Update: 2:40 p.m.
The Metro mechanic who was struck by a train inside an agency repair shop Tuesday had been with Metro for 25 years.
He was rushed by helicopter with serious and life-threatening injuries to a local trauma center after pulled from underneath the train that hit him.
Metro said it was conducting a “safety stand-down” at Shady Grove Yard, where employees are offered counseling and safety practices are reviewed.
The Tri-State Oversight Committee said it was sending members up to the scene Tuesday afternoon to look into the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board, which already has three pending investigations into Metro incidents, was also notified, but spokesman Terry Williams said it was not immediately clear if it planned to investigate Tuesday’s incident.
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Update: 2:20 p.m.
The Metro worker who was struck by a train at the Shady Grove rail yard has been freed from underneath the train and rushed to a local trauma center with serious and life-threatening injuries, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.
The man was hit by the lead car of an eight-car train inside a shop at the Shady Grove rail yard after he accidentally walked in front of the train, said Assistant Chief Scott Graham. The man was stuck under the lead rail car for more than an hour.
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Update: 2:05 p.m.
The Metro worker who was struck by a train apparently had been walking in the rail yard and was hit when he walked in front of a train, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.
The man remains trapped under the train, with medical crews tending to him until he can be pulled from underneath the train, said Assistant Chief Scott Graham.
Metro’s Dan Stessel said the agency has notified both local and national safety officials about the incident.
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A Metro worker was struck by a train at the Shady Grove rail yard just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to Metro.
The worker was hit by a train that was out of service in an area where trains are sent for repairs and maintenance.
The worker was reported to be conscious and alert, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. But Montgomery County Fire spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia said it appeared the person had serious and possibly life-threatening injuries. Crews were working to free the person as of about 1:30 p.m., he said.
Red Line service was not affected by the incident.
Metro had a string of worker fatalities in 2009 and 2010, with four people fatally killed by trains in three separate incidents. Those, plus the deadly 2009 Fort Totten train crash, became catalysts for a major transformation of the leadership at the agency.
